The Volunteer
Popular History Accessible Mixed
🌍 Multi-Perspective
Witold Pilecki volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz — to build a resistance cell inside and smuggle out the truth.
The Verdict
One of the most astonishing true stories of the war, suppressed for half a century. Witold Pilecki, a Polish officer, deliberately got himself arrested and sent to Auschwitz — to build a resistance network inside the camp and smuggle out the first detailed intelligence on what was happening there. Jack Fairweather reconstructs Pilecki's years in the camp and his eventual escape with a thriller's pace and a historian's care. That Pilecki was later executed by Poland's communist regime, his story buried, only deepens the astonishment.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- An almost unbelievable true resistance story
- Readers who want courage inside Auschwitz documented
- Narrative history with real archival grounding
- A story long suppressed and worth recovering
Look elsewhere if you want
- A broad history of the Holocaust
- Readers wanting analysis over narrative
- A survivor's interior memoir
Why We Rated It 4.6
Historical Context
Witold Pilecki volunteered for a Polish underground mission that led to his deliberate imprisonment in Auschwitz in 1940, where he organised resistance and compiled intelligence reports before escaping in 1943. After the war he was arrested by Poland's communist authorities and executed in 1948; his role was suppressed for decades. The Volunteer was published in 2019 and named Costa Book of the Year.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Custom House / WH Allen (2019)First edition.
PaperbackThe standard reading edition.
Read It Alongside
Ordinary Men Christopher Browning · 1992 · ★ 4.8
Academic 
KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps Nikolaus Wachsmann · 2015 · ★ 4.6
Academic 
Schindler's List Thomas Keneally · 1982 · ★ 4.5
Historical Fiction Collector's Corner
A recent title; inexpensive and easy to find. Check current listings. → Check listings on AbeBooks.
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0062561411
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Did someone really volunteer to be sent to Auschwitz?
- Yes — Witold Pilecki arranged his own arrest to infiltrate the camp, organise resistance, and report on it.
- What happened to Pilecki after the war?
- He was arrested by Poland's postwar communist government and executed in 1948; his story was suppressed for decades.